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SYDNEY's largest plot of land has been sold to a Singapore developer.

Frasers Centrepoint's international arm, Frasers Property, yesterday announced that it had paid A$208million ($270m)for the 5.8 hectare site. The site was once a brewery, which closed in 2005.

At about two-thirds the size of Haw Par Villa, it will be Sydney's largest-ever single development project.

The Australian newspaper estimated that when completed, the property will be worth A$2billion.

The deal follows months of wrangling over building restrictions on the site that resulted in an earlier buyer pulling out of the deal, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.

DrStanley Quek (the CEO of Frasers Property said the company has permission to build 11 towers on the site up to a maximum height of 110m.

They will house a mix of apartments, offices and shops. The development will also include a park.

'What we want is to create a village that people can work and play in,' said Dr Quek.

He has promised to hold design competitions for about three of the 11towers. He must also retain 29 of the 33 buildings on the site for historic reasons.

The site, on Broadway in the inner-city suburb of Chippendale, faces the University of Technology.

Last year, the New South Wales minister for planning, MrFrank Sartor, wrestled control of the planning for the site away from the Lord Mayor of Sydney, MsClover Moore, and scrapped a 100m height limit the local authorities had imposed.

Dr Quek's company has just two weeks to pay the A$208m asking price in full as the brewer's owner, Fosters Group, wants a settlement before the end of the financial year.

His plans for the site will be subject to approval by the City of Sydney.

Ms Moore said she was expecting to see excellence in design.

'These buildings are an important part of Sydney's history, and the character of Chippendale and together these buildings make up a very special heritage precinct,' she said.

The site is also the subject of an unusual court action by Sydney student Matthew Drake-Brockman, who claims the planning permission for the site does not take climate change into account.

Dr Quek dismissed the threat of court action, saying environmental features like solar panels and double glazing would be considered in the design. 'We will make sure it is as green as possible,' he said.

Work will begin early next year and should should take between six and eight years to complete, reported the Australian.

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